A salver of arty design (4)
I believe the answer is:
tray
'a salver' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'arty design' is the wordplay.
'design' indicates an anagram.
'arty' is an anagram of 'TRAY'.
'of' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for tray that I've seen before include "Salver" , "Item used for carrying food and drink" , "platter" , "Flat board for carrying things" , "Kitchen carrier" .)